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Designer Makers Steal the Show at designjunction

designjunction stole the show for me this year – in fact there was so much good work, that I’ve had to split my coverage into two posts! This one covers the ground floor – a retail space for designer makers – and we’ll go upstairs in the next one.

09.24.14 | By
Designer Makers Steal the Show at designjunction

Lovely Pigeon has rebranded to become Tom Pigeon, which launched at the show. Founder Kirsty Thomas has been joined by her husband, also a designer, and his presence can already be felt in this new collection. It’s clean, it’s restrained, it’s Tom Pigeon!

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New designer Zoe Tynan-Campbell was showing these gorgeous wooden ‘Hasbeens.’ They are made from wooden off-cuts and discarded furniture and Zoe describes them as “souvenirs and story tellers.” I like their slightly anthropomorphic nature.

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Tiipoi is a really interesting new brand seeking to redefine our relationship with Indian products by using high-quality manufacturing to make utilitarian Indian homewares from luxury materials. I am a fan.

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London-based design studio Ola launched its first collection of traditionally crafted stationery, featuring original prints by founder Katy Goutefangea, in May. This understated 2015 diary marks the first extension to the original range, with its surprise endpapers in one of Katy’s distinctive prints.

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India-born Kangan Arora was inspired to start creating her trademark textiles when the grey skies of London made her feel homesick for the colors of her home country. True to form, the new collection she launched at designjunction immediately transports you away from the gloom into the sunshine of the subcontinent.

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Ciara McGarrity of Waffle Design has carefully woven contemporary colors into her cushions and throws, resulting in something that is simultaneously timeless and on-trend.

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I love Richard Brendon’s Speck collection – little copper dots cover the tiny black dots caused by metal elements in the clay. Traditionally, manufacturers reserve pieces with speck for designs that cover most of the surface, but Richard has turned this on its head, creating something that celebrates the imperfections inherent in making of china.

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HAM is all about a pig, a horse, and rabbit caught in the midst of unexpectedly human activities. The pared-back, black-on-white execution stops it being too cutesy and, judging by the number of super-fans coming back for second and third purchases, might just turn it into a runaway success.

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Lindsay Lang is definitely one to watch and it’s been wonderful to see her brand evolve over the last couple of years. She’s now very much moving into ceramic tiles and was launching a fantastic new collection to great response at designjunction.

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Nat Maks is German designer and illustrator, Natascha Maksimovic. This is her first homewares collection – comprising wallpaper, fabric, and accessories, all based on a section of one of Natascha’s film-inspired illustrations.

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Fashion design brand David David has created this stunning wallpaper, mirroring a site-specific installation created in collaboration with Johnson tiles for the V&A as part of London Design Festival.

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And finally, just halfway sneaking up the stairs, I had to share this incredible installation with you. A whole host of top designers have customized Anglepoise lamps and Ercol chairs to be auctioned online in aid of Teddy’s Wish, a charity funding research into the causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Keep an eye out for the next post to see what I found at the top of the stairs!

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.